Publication History |
Michael Moorcock's four-part series "The History of the Runestaff" introduces
Dorian Hawkmoon. Hawkmoon is the Duke of Koln, an avatar of Moorcock's
reoccurring idea, the Eternal Champion (the most famous of which is Elric of
Melnibone). He is a rebel against the over-reaching, insane, and brutal empire
of Granbretan.
This is a post-apocalyptic Earth in which civilization was, for the most part,
destroyed during the Tragic Millennium. Granbretan is reminiscent of Elric's
Melnibone. It is another derivative of Great Britain that manages to be both
baroque and Gothic. It is another long-lived empire (two thousand years) that
is collapsing under its own weight. Yet Granbretan maintains its goal to capture
all of Europe and then the entire world. Its people and leaders are cruel and
prone to a "congenital insanity." Their culture is strange and rigid, the most
visible manifestation being innumerable clan-like or caste-like Orders. Each
Order is named after a beast and all members of the Order must (at nearly
every waking moment) wear a mask patterned after that beast. Mask-lessness is
the worst fate in Granbretan.
Under Granbretan's Dark Empire, elements of technology are preserved and
mixed with feudal culture. The result is that Hawkmoon's world has scientists
rather than sorcerers. Yet given the fantastical nature of the "scientific"
devices, the effect is sometimes much the same. More often, the emphasis on
science rather than sorcery produces an intriguing sword and science-sorcery
world. There are bird-like ornithopters, laser-like fire lances, and CT scan-like
mind-reading machines. On the other hand, there is no spell-casting. There is
little that is purely supernatural in Hawkmoon's world. There are no gods or
magical beings. It is only with the introduction of the Runestaff and its allies
that a purely "magical" or "supernatural" element is brought into the story.
When they finally do appear, the heroes rebel against them. Gods in particular
fare poorly in The History of the Runestaff: nonexistent in Hawkmoon's world,
they are weak and childish in others, struggling to stay alive and relevant.
In Hawkmoon's alternate-Europe, names of places are often corruptions of
their current names, lending a sense of familiarity. Yet some of the settings and
mechanics of Hawkmoon's world are so different from standard sword and
sorcery pseudo-medieval fare that, at times, the series reads like sword and
planet.
Hawkmoon himself is very different from Moorcock's most well-known
incarnation of the Eternal Champion, Elric of Melnibone. He is a soldier with
no magical abilities, no allegiance to gods or divinities. He is optimistic,
decisive, and practical. He spends less time debating the philosophies of a
problem and more time engaged in solutions. But, where Elric searches for his
doom-filled destiny, Hawkmoon actively avoids all talk of such matters. He
wants no part of the Runestaff, its servants, and its manipulations, no matter
how many times he is told that it is his destiny, for his focus is on defeating the
Dark Empire and protecting his loved ones at Castle Brass. When he follows the
Runestaff's directions, it is only out of self-interest; the Runestaff more than
once extorts Hawkmoon into doing its bidding.
Despite all this, Hawkmoon himself is not one of Moorcock's strongest
characters. He is frequently up-staged by more likeable, witty, and clever
companions. Unlike many fantasy heroes, Hawkmoon does not significantly
grow in power or personality; Hawkmoon's gains of power fall into the category
of "easy come, easy go."
Familiar elements of the Eternal Champion mythology, however, are here.
There is the Companion to Champions, which here takes several forms. There
is the tie to destiny and the search for the beloved. However, the Eternal
Champion mythos does not take center stage until the second Hawkmoon
series, "The Chronicles of Castle Brass." The lack of emphasis in the first series
results in a faster-paced story. After allowing the reader to settle in a bit into
this bizarre world, Moorcock quickly throws Hawkmoon from one impossible
situation to another. Hawkmoon, as he must, overcomes daunting odds and
engineers daring escapes with the help of luck, skill, friends, and
science-sorcery.
The structure of each volume follows Moorcock's formula of division into
books and then chapters and read as a series of novellas within a larger plot.
Small inconsistencies in the books add to this impression, but they are easy to
overlook because of Moorcock's pulp-style of writing and creative use of
"scientific" devices and cultures.
Reading these books is like traveling in a time warp to when pulp ruled. This is
both good and bad. While the thrill-a-minute, condensed writing is a positive,
don't look to these works for feminism or tight, logical cohesion. Fun though
they may be, if they had been written by another author, these books most
likely would not have been reprinted repeatedly or adapted into graphic
novels...
Dorian Hawkmoon. Hawkmoon is the Duke of Koln, an avatar of Moorcock's
reoccurring idea, the Eternal Champion (the most famous of which is Elric of
Melnibone). He is a rebel against the over-reaching, insane, and brutal empire
of Granbretan.
This is a post-apocalyptic Earth in which civilization was, for the most part,
destroyed during the Tragic Millennium. Granbretan is reminiscent of Elric's
Melnibone. It is another derivative of Great Britain that manages to be both
baroque and Gothic. It is another long-lived empire (two thousand years) that
is collapsing under its own weight. Yet Granbretan maintains its goal to capture
all of Europe and then the entire world. Its people and leaders are cruel and
prone to a "congenital insanity." Their culture is strange and rigid, the most
visible manifestation being innumerable clan-like or caste-like Orders. Each
Order is named after a beast and all members of the Order must (at nearly
every waking moment) wear a mask patterned after that beast. Mask-lessness is
the worst fate in Granbretan.
Under Granbretan's Dark Empire, elements of technology are preserved and
mixed with feudal culture. The result is that Hawkmoon's world has scientists
rather than sorcerers. Yet given the fantastical nature of the "scientific"
devices, the effect is sometimes much the same. More often, the emphasis on
science rather than sorcery produces an intriguing sword and science-sorcery
world. There are bird-like ornithopters, laser-like fire lances, and CT scan-like
mind-reading machines. On the other hand, there is no spell-casting. There is
little that is purely supernatural in Hawkmoon's world. There are no gods or
magical beings. It is only with the introduction of the Runestaff and its allies
that a purely "magical" or "supernatural" element is brought into the story.
When they finally do appear, the heroes rebel against them. Gods in particular
fare poorly in The History of the Runestaff: nonexistent in Hawkmoon's world,
they are weak and childish in others, struggling to stay alive and relevant.
In Hawkmoon's alternate-Europe, names of places are often corruptions of
their current names, lending a sense of familiarity. Yet some of the settings and
mechanics of Hawkmoon's world are so different from standard sword and
sorcery pseudo-medieval fare that, at times, the series reads like sword and
planet.
Hawkmoon himself is very different from Moorcock's most well-known
incarnation of the Eternal Champion, Elric of Melnibone. He is a soldier with
no magical abilities, no allegiance to gods or divinities. He is optimistic,
decisive, and practical. He spends less time debating the philosophies of a
problem and more time engaged in solutions. But, where Elric searches for his
doom-filled destiny, Hawkmoon actively avoids all talk of such matters. He
wants no part of the Runestaff, its servants, and its manipulations, no matter
how many times he is told that it is his destiny, for his focus is on defeating the
Dark Empire and protecting his loved ones at Castle Brass. When he follows the
Runestaff's directions, it is only out of self-interest; the Runestaff more than
once extorts Hawkmoon into doing its bidding.
Despite all this, Hawkmoon himself is not one of Moorcock's strongest
characters. He is frequently up-staged by more likeable, witty, and clever
companions. Unlike many fantasy heroes, Hawkmoon does not significantly
grow in power or personality; Hawkmoon's gains of power fall into the category
of "easy come, easy go."
Familiar elements of the Eternal Champion mythology, however, are here.
There is the Companion to Champions, which here takes several forms. There
is the tie to destiny and the search for the beloved. However, the Eternal
Champion mythos does not take center stage until the second Hawkmoon
series, "The Chronicles of Castle Brass." The lack of emphasis in the first series
results in a faster-paced story. After allowing the reader to settle in a bit into
this bizarre world, Moorcock quickly throws Hawkmoon from one impossible
situation to another. Hawkmoon, as he must, overcomes daunting odds and
engineers daring escapes with the help of luck, skill, friends, and
science-sorcery.
The structure of each volume follows Moorcock's formula of division into
books and then chapters and read as a series of novellas within a larger plot.
Small inconsistencies in the books add to this impression, but they are easy to
overlook because of Moorcock's pulp-style of writing and creative use of
"scientific" devices and cultures.
Reading these books is like traveling in a time warp to when pulp ruled. This is
both good and bad. While the thrill-a-minute, condensed writing is a positive,
don't look to these works for feminism or tight, logical cohesion. Fun though
they may be, if they had been written by another author, these books most
likely would not have been reprinted repeatedly or adapted into graphic
novels...
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| Dorian Hawkmoon, Part 1: The History of the Runestaff By SC Bryce |
First Printing:
SwordandSorcery.org, Howard
Andrew Jones, ed. (Feb. 4, 2006), at
www.SwordandSorcery.org.
SwordandSorcery.org, Howard
Andrew Jones, ed. (Feb. 4, 2006), at
www.SwordandSorcery.org.
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